Roughstuff's Korean War Archive
book reviews and summaries, comments, analysis
Shilts, Randy Conduct Unbecoming
Lesbians and gays in the US Military from Vietnam to Desert Storm
This book tries to be everything to everyone-- a common weakness amongst radicals in general and gays in particular-- and it fails miserably. This is another one of these books that wastes precious paper pining for the tie-die days of Woodstock, The Summer of love, Kennedys, and the Warren Court. Those days are gone..forever, I hope, but in any case, gone. This book won't bring them back. In fact, by childishly concerning itself with documentaries about the 'flourishing gay subculture' in the military, it probably set the movement back with mainstream America.
I will resist the temptation to write a copious reply/review to Shilt's literary miasma. Just a few simple points....
- Von Steuben liked boys (maybe!). Decatur wore his comrade's (lovers?) ring! There were alot of drag queens in Saigon!..Bahrain!..Chicopee!!..some Navy ships were floating T-rooms!!....it rains men in Diego Garcia!! so what! This trash proves Gays make good soldiers?? I guess Tailhook proved those guys made good pilots.
- Gay appeals in the court system--military courts or civilian courts, based on the right to privacy--were doomed to failure from the start. Privacy rights have never been extended to illegal activities, and many states have laws making homosexual acts illegal. The cart was before the horse. Judge Gerhard Gesell himself said as much...there are many problems that cannot be solved by litigation. The battle for gay rights belongs in the legislatures!
- The gay community expected to ape the success of the civil rights movement and always been in a huff that many blacks do no sign on to our cause. There are several reasons why this attempted meld has failed. First, the civil rights movement was a multidecade effort to ensure equal rights under American law for blacks. The 'gaylib' movement was born after the Stonewall riots and has always identified itself more with throwing rocks at cops than any real social and political reforms. Second, the gay community jumped on the civil rights movement just as that movement was turning from emphasis upon opportunity, to the weaker moral platform of quotas. The latter have never commanded a majority of either black or white voters.
- it would help if the gay community itself had some credibility on military matters. But it does not. Knee-jerk anti-militarism is rampant in gay circles, even to this day. Many radicals are more interested in using the Gay issue to throw ROTC off campuses than they are in trying to obtain fair treatment for ROTC gay cadets. During the Vietnam War, most gay groups were more relieved at how being gay exempted them from the draft, than they were outraged at how gay soldiers/vets were mistreated by Pentagon brass. This is why I was careful to make clear that being gay was not the basis for my objection to that War. More of my thoughts and agonies over this issue can be found on my personal page.
- it would help even more if prominent Gay leaders were'nt such fucking hypocrites. Harvey Milk--the mere mention of the name sends many Gays swooning with anguish and outrage over his untimely fate-- had been a closet case for most of his life. But one fine day, Harvey 'Bristol Cream' Milk suddenly decided that being out was where its at...not just for himself, but for every other faggot as well. Ol' Harvey spilled the beans that Gerald Ford's ex-Marine bodyguard was gay. So much for dignity and respect for privacy! Shilts waxes long over the 'dilemma' this presented to President Ford. What about the dilemma presented to the bodyguard? Oh...hell, another body for the cause!
On and on the litany goes. What is most annoying about this book is it has largely set the standard for the level of debate about gays in the military--surely a low standard, at that-- and set the stage for subsequent gay/military texts. Readers, therefore, should not be surprised at the content of other books recently published on this subject...nor of my reviews of them.
Now that you have read the review...
- Like this book?
Order it online now from AmazonDotCom. This is a direct link to the book.
- Have you already read this book? Wanna post a review of your own? Send me an email and see your review right up here with Roughie's.
- Questions about the issues/topics in this book? Send them to the webmaster and i'll answer your inquiry here, too.
- Return to Roughstuff's Korean War webpage.
- Go all the way back to Roughie's Home Page: Korean War Archive and World Cycle Tour Network.